September 22, 2013

Q.Â Thinking you want to talk about the Presidents Cup roster.
PHIL MICKELSON:Â Okay.Q.Â Just curious, with the USA's dominant, actually, it's been pretty dominant over the international team.Â Does the international team need to step up to create a little more interest?
PHIL MICKELSON:Â It's not that important.Â Actually, the tournament is about promoting the game of golf on an international level.Â Who loses and by how much isn't as important as having the guys get together in a competitive, friendly environment, put on a good show or display of golf and have some fun doing it.Q.Â Are you excited about the rookies?Â They weren't really rookies, Duff and Keegan, coming up on the team?
PHIL MICKELSON:Â Those guys are fun guys to be around, and they add a lot off the golf course, making it a very enjoyable experience.Â We're all looking forward to having those guys on the team.Q.Â [No microphone.]
PHIL MICKELSON:Â It's been a really good year for me.Â Culminating with the British Open win, the Phoenix Open win, the Scottish Open win in there.Â It's been a good year.
I've had some good things happen in my game.Â I've reached different levels of abilities with driving the golf ball.Â My short game has really come around to the level I expect it to be at.Â My putting has just been tremendous.
I'm looking forward to next year.Â I think that, as I look back on this year, I had some great highs, and I had some lows. Â I think that‑‑ I don't play at the‑‑ at my highest level every single week.Â I have kind of ups and downs, and I'm a very emotional player.
I think that I'm going to have to factor that into some of my scheduling and maybe cut out 25 percent of my events in an effort to play at a high level when I do play because I know that I'm not able to do it 25 weeks a year.Â Maybe I can do it 18 or 20, though.Q.Â [No microphone.]
PHIL MICKELSON:Â Oh, I don't know.Â I don't know.Â That's‑‑ that's a tough one.Â If I could have done well this week, I thought I had a really good chance.Â But as it stands now, I'm not sure.Q.Â Obviously, a lot of interest in Spieth.Â You played with him this week in a game.Â Without giving up any pairings or guys that want to play with him, how do you think he's going to handle that situation?
PHIL MICKELSON:Â Not only is he a great player but he's got a great demeanor.Â He's very easy to be around and very likable.Â That adds a lot to the team room and adds a lot to him as a partner for whoever plays with him.
I would think there's a good chance that a guy like Steve Stricker, who partnered with him in our little Wednesday match, I would think there would be a good chance that they would spend some time together.
But whoever plays with Jordan has got a real treat because he can make a lot of birdies.Â He's exciting to play with.Â But he's just as enjoyable to be around.Q.Â On a scale of 1 to 10, your par at 16 today?
PHIL MICKELSON:Â My par at 16, yeah, that was a good one.Â It was probably a 9‑‑ it was a 9 only because‑‑ not a 10 because I had to chip out.Â If I would have had a shot at the green and done something exciting, then it would be a 10.
I just find chipping out, even though it was through trees and leaves and all that stuff, it can't quite be a 10.Â Any chip‑out is just not cool. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports